The Social Media Conundrum
The whole ethos behind social media was to build an ecosystem that was easy and affordable to access so that people could be ‘social’ in the virtual world. The objective being, to help people connect with long lost friends, grow their networks, share positive experiences, give people a glimpse into their real lives and be able to express their opinions on certain pressing issues albeit in a balanced, informed and constructive way. We have done anything but that.
Platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, WhatsApp etc were meant to make the world come together in a less fragmented manner and help us to help each other and generally make the world a better place. But ofcourse we human beings, with our superior ability to reason and think for ourselves, have successfully managed to make social media a cesspool that is bereft of any dignity. We have successfully managed to ‘weaponize’ something that was actually supposed to bring us together in order to galvanize a refreshing change in an already toxic world.
People struggle to filter what they say on social media, they don’t bother checking the source of the information before sharing third party posts or WhatsApp forwards, they rant away superficially without obtaining concrete facts, they freely run down people or pass caustic remarks on other’s posts not thinking for a second that if that same person were in their own home, would we say something as nasty to them, then why put that in the comments section either, why hide behind the screen. Who had ever heard of words like trolling or social-media bullying while growing up? People actually take pride at trolling someone on social media, instead why not connect with them offline and help them.
Think people think! Social media is a tool to help make our lives better, more cheerful, more connected and well informed. It is not a weapon, to attack each other with, without facing any consequences for your actions. Henceforth, use discretion before you pull out your phone and post something or comment on something. Don’t go on a ‘Press Like Button’ spree either. Filter filter filter! Even the dormant ones, who never post a thing or like or comment or appreciate anyone’s posts or photographs, I mean really, why are you even on social media then, the whole purpose is defeated, right? It’s social media, so be social!
People rarely meet you in person nowadays and even if they do it’s not that often. But they sure do meet your social media avatar far more often than that, so use it to your advantage. Guarding against being pretentious or unabashedly ostentatious, helps one appear more realistic and humane, especially when a majority of your coitre are your online friends and know your ‘reality’. Be creative, post interesting and self-proprietary content that is original and ingenious in nature, not the repetitive same angle selfies with corny captions plagiarized from some website.
Be Smart, it’s time YOU learn to use social media, DON’T let social media use you!
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